Financial Statement Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Accounting Standards Update and Change in Accounting Principle [Table Text Block]

New Accounting Pronouncements Adopted in 2020 — The following table provides a brief description of recent accounting pronouncements that had an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Accounting pronouncements not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Standards Adopted
ASU Number and Name	Description	Date of Adoption	Effect on the financial statements upon adoption
2016-02, 2018-01, 2018-10, 2018-11, 2018-20, 2019-01, Leases (Topic 842)	ASC 842 was adopted by sPower on January 1, 2020. sPower was not required to adopt ASC 842 using the public adoption date, as sPower is an equity method investee that meets the definition of a public business entity only by virtue of the inclusion of its summarized financial information in the Company’s SEC filings.	January 1, 2020	The adoption of this standard resulted in a $4 million decrease to accumulated deficit attributable to the AES Corporation stockholders’ equity.
2016-13, 2018-19, 2019-04, 2019-05, 2019-10, 2019-11, 2020-02, 2020-03, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments	See discussion of the ASU below.	January 1, 2020	See impact upon adoption of the standard below.

ASC 326 — Financial Instruments — Credit Losses

On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted ASC 326 Financial Instruments — Credit Losses and its subsequent corresponding updates (“ASC 326”). The new standard updates the impairment model for financial assets measured at amortized cost, known as the Current Expected Credit Loss (“CECL”) model. For trade and other receivables, held-to-maturity debt securities, loans, and other instruments, entities are required to use a new

forward-looking "expected loss" model that generally results in the earlier recognition of an allowance for credit losses. For available-for-sale debt securities with unrealized losses, entities measure credit losses as it was done under previous GAAP, except that unrealized losses due to credit-related factors are now recognized as an allowance on the balance sheet with a corresponding adjustment to earnings in the income statement.

The Company applied the modified retrospective method of adoption for ASC 326. Under this transition method, the Company applied the transition provisions starting at the date of adoption. The cumulative effect of the adoption of ASC 326 on our January 1, 2020 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet was as follows (in millions):

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet	Balance at December 31, 2019			Adjustments Due to ASC 326			Balance at January 1, 2020
Assets
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $20	$	1,479		$	—		$	1,479
Other current assets (1)	802			(2		)	800
Deferred income taxes	156			9			165
Loan receivable, net of allowance of $32	1,351			(32		)	1,319
Other noncurrent assets (2)	1,635			(30		)	1,605
Liabilities and Equity
Accumulated deficit	$	(692	)	(39		)	$	(731	)
Noncontrolling interests	2,233			(16		)	2,217

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⁽¹⁾  Other current assets include the short-term portion of the Mong Duong loan receivable.

⁽²⁾  Other noncurrent assets include Argentina financing receivables.

Mong Duong — The Mong Duong II power plant in Vietnam is the primary driver of changes in credit reserves under the new standard. This plant is operated under a build, operate, and transfer (“BOT”) contract and will be transferred to the Vietnamese government after the completion of a 25-year PPA. A loan receivable was recognized in 2018 upon the adoption of ASC 606 in order to account for the future expected payments for the construction performance obligation portion of the BOT contract. As the payments for the construction performance obligation occur over a 25-year term, a significant financing element was determined to exist which is accounted for under the effective interest rate method. Historically, the Company has not incurred any losses on this arrangement, of which no directly comparable assets exist in the market. In order to determine expected credit losses under ASC 326 arising from this $1.4 billion loan receivable as of January 1, 2020, the Company considered average historical default and recovery rates on similarly rated sovereign bonds, which formed an initial basis for developing a probability of default, net of expected recoveries, to be applied as a key credit quality indicator for this arrangement. A resulting estimated loss rate of 2.4% was applied to the weighted-average remaining life of the loan receivable, after adjustments for certain asset-specific characteristics, including the Company’s status as a large foreign direct investor in Vietnam, Mong Duong’s status as critical energy infrastructure in Vietnam, and cash flows from the operations of the plant, which are under the Company’s control until the end of the BOT contract. As a result of this analysis, the Company recognized an opening CECL reserve of $34 million as an adjustment to Accumulated deficit and Noncontrolling interests as of January 1, 2020.

Argentina — Exposure to CAMMESA, the administrator of the wholesale energy market in Argentina, is the driver of credit reserves in Argentina. As discussed in Note 7 of the Company’s 2019 Form 10-K, the Company has credit exposures through the FONINVEMEM Agreements, other agreements related to resolutions passed by the Argentine government in which AES Argentina will receive compensation for investments in new generation plants and technologies, as well as regular accounts receivable balances. The timing of collections depend on corresponding agreements and collectability of these receivables are assessed on an ongoing basis.

Collection of the principal and interest on these receivables is subject to various business risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the continued operation of power plants which generate cash for payments of these receivables, regulatory changes that could impact the timing and amount of collections, and economic conditions in Argentina. The Company monitors these risks, including the credit ratings of the Argentine government, on a quarterly basis to assess the collectability of these receivables. Historically, the Company has not incurred any credit-related losses on these receivables. In order to determine expected credit losses under ASC 326, the Company considered historical default probabilities utilizing similarly rated sovereign bonds and historic recovery rates for Argentine government bond defaults. This information formed an initial basis for developing a probability of default, net of expected recoveries, to be applied as a key credit quality indicator across the underlying financing receivables. A resulting estimated weighted average loss rate of 41.2% was applied to the remaining balance of these receivables, after adjustments for certain asset-specific characteristics, including AES Argentina’s role in providing critical energy infrastructure to Argentina, our history of collections on these receivables, and the average term that the receivables are expected to be outstanding. As a result of this analysis, the Company recognized an opening CECL reserve of $29 million as an adjustment to Accumulated deficit as of January 1, 2020.

Other financial assets — Application of ASC 326 to the Company’s $1.5 billion of trade accounts receivable and $268 million of available-for-sale debt securities did not result in any material adjustments, primarily due to the short-term duration and high turnover of these financial assets. Additionally, a large portion of our trade accounts receivables and amounts reserved for doubtful accounts under legacy GAAP arise from arrangements accounted for as an operating lease under ASC 842, which are excluded from the scope of ASC 326.

As discussed in Note 7 of the Company’s 2019 Form 10-K, AES Gener recorded $33 million of noncurrent receivables pertaining to revenues recognized on regulated energy contracts that were impacted by the Stabilization Fund created by the Chilean government in October 2019. It is expected that these noncurrent receivables will be collected prior to December 31, 2027. However, given the investment grade rating of Chile and the history of zero credit losses for regulated customers, management determined that no incremental CECL reserves were required to be recognized as of January 1, 2020.

The following table represents the rollforward of the allowance for credit losses from January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 (in millions):

Rollforward of CECL Reserves by Portfolio Segment	Reserve at January 1, 2020		Current Period Provision		Write-offs charged against allowance			Foreign Exchange			Reserve at March 31, 2020
Accounts Receivable (1)	4		2		(1		)	—			5
Mong Duong Loan Receivable	34		—		—			—			34
Argentina Receivables	29		1		—			(2		)	28
Other	1		—		—			—			1
Total CECL Reserves	$	68	$	3	$	(1	)	$	(2	)	$	68

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Excludes operating lease receivable allowances and contractual dispute allowances of $16 million and $15 million as of January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2020, respectively. Those reserves are not in scope under ASC 326.

Consolidation

Consolidation — In this Quarterly Report, the terms “AES,” “the Company,” “us” or “we” refer to the consolidated entity, including its subsidiaries and affiliates. The terms “The AES Corporation” or “the Parent Company” refer only to the publicly held holding company, The AES Corporation, excluding its subsidiaries and affiliates. Furthermore, VIEs in which the Company has a variable interest have been consolidated where the Company is the primary beneficiary. Investments in which the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

Interim Financial Presentation — The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and footnotes have been prepared in accordance with GAAP, as contained in the FASB ASC, for interim financial information and Article 10 of Regulation S-X issued by the SEC. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for annual fiscal reporting periods. In the opinion of management, the interim financial information includes all adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary for a fair presentation of the results of operations, financial position, comprehensive income, changes in equity, and cash flows. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2020, are not necessarily indicative of expected results for the year ending December 31, 2020. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and should be read in conjunction with the 2019 audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto, which are included in the 2019 Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 27, 2020 (the “2019 Form 10-K”).

Commitments and Contingencies

— The Company is involved in certain claims, suits and legal proceedings in the normal course of business. The Company accrues for litigation and claims when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. The Compa

Segment Reporting

The segment reporting structure uses the Company’s management reporting structure as its foundation to reflect how the Company manages the businesses internally and is mainly organized by geographic regions, which provides a socio-political-economic understanding of our business. The management reporting structure is organized by four SBUs led by our President and Chief Executive Officer: US and Utilities, South America, MCAC, and Eurasia SBUs. Using the accounting guidance on segment reporting, the Company determined that its four operating segments are aligned with its four reportable segments corresponding to its SBUs.

Corporate and Other — Included in “Corporate and Other” are the results of the AES self-insurance company and certain equity affiliates, corporate overhead costs which are not directly associated with the operations of our four reportable segments, and certain intercompany charges such as self-insurance premiums which are fully eliminated in consolidation.

The Company uses Adjusted PTC as its primary segment performance measure. Adjusted PTC, a non-GAAP measure, is defined by the Company as pre-tax income from continuing operations attributable to The AES Corporation excluding gains or losses of the consolidated entity due to (a) unrealized gains or losses related to derivative transactions and equity securities; (b) unrealized foreign currency gains or losses; (c) gains, losses, benefits and costs associated with dispositions and acquisitions of business interests, including early plant closures, and gains and losses recognized at commencement of sales-type leases; (d) losses due to impairments; (e) gains, losses and costs due to the early retirement of debt; and (f) costs directly associated with a major restructuring program, including, but not limited to, workforce reduction efforts, relocations, and office consolidation. Adjusted PTC also includes net equity in earnings of affiliates on an after-tax basis adjusted for the same gains or losses excluded from consolidated entities. The Company has concluded that Adjusted PTC better reflects the underlying business performance of the Company and is the most relevant measure considered in the Company’s internal evaluation of the financial performance of its segments. Additionally, given its large number of businesses and complexity, the Company concluded that Adjusted PTC is a more transparent measure that better assists investors in determining which businesses have the greatest impact on the Company’s results.

Revenue and Adjusted PTC are presented before inter-segment eliminations, which includes the effect of intercompany transactions with other segments except for interest, charges for certain management fees, and the write-off of intercompany balances, as applicable. All intra-segment activity has been eliminated within the segment. Inter-segment activity has been eliminated within the total consolidated results.